Eleven Soul is set in a dystopian future, where scientists accidentally create genetically-modified mutants called the Shahar. The Shahar are capable of evolving at an exponential rate, forcing humans to fight for their status as Earth's most dominant life form... The Shahar look amazing. The author, Todono, wanted them to be threatening and that's what they are.

Then we have the Samurai Force. They are a team of elite humans, specially trained and genetically enhanced to operate giant fighting-machines in the war against the Shahar. The challenges they face both on the battlefield and internally adds a lot of depth and intrigue to the story.

The main characters are Tsukahara, a naive dreamer, and Tsukumo, a hot-headed brawler. When they arrive in Squad #5 - for "troubled" youths - their team mates aren't impressed. They have a long way to go, but in the end it may be down to them to save the world from itself - if they can survive each other of course... These characters are what stop this story from being a simple battle manga. They make mistakes... and keep making them before finally learning - sometimes when its too late.

Eleven Soul is a fascinating sci-fi action-story with depth, featuring developed and often humorous characters. The illustrations are beautiful, capturing the author's vision of a dystopian yet believable future. There's a lot of action, but the focus is always on the characters and how they cope with the situation they're in, which is what makes this worth reading.

Characters

Takemichi Tsukahara

One of the two main characters of Eleven Soul, Tsukahara, is a good natured, dopey guy without much talent. He's very naive, seeming to understand little about the world, possibly due to him spending a lot of time in hospital when he was younger. It's initially a mystery as to why he's in this elite unit, but he has a hidden potential that soon makes the others pay attention to him. Also, he loves strawberry milk.

Iroha Tsukumo

The other main character of Eleven Soul, Tsukumo, is a rookie like Tsukahara and joins the Samurai Force at the same time as him. However, unlike Tsukahara she's already undergone a lot of training, and has a considerable amount of combat experience. Hot-headed, competitive, and impatient, she takes an instant dislike to Tsukahara because of how weak and naive he is, but his positive personality and perseverance may eventually win her over.

Hajime Ito

The ace of the Samurai Force, Ito, is the overall leader of all the experimental squads as well as the captain of squad one. He's looked up to and admired by everyone for his strength, kindness, and even his cooking (except for his desserts). The only person that dislikes him is Nogi, the leader of the death row squad, who for some reason hates Ito...

Isao Kaminaga

A former elite soldier in the American army, Kaminaga, was head hunted by the Prime Minister of Japan for the role of training the Samurai Force's experimental unit. The training regime he provides for his students is Spartan in the extreme, and he demands absolute loyalty from his subordinates, but cares about them deeply.

Gennojo Nogi

The captain of squad five, the death row squad, Nogi, is a cool and capable leader, and in terms of ability is second only to Ito. As with all the members of squad five, Nogi has a chip in his head that will fry his brain if he disobeys orders. For the cool headed Nogi this isn't usually a problem unless he's around Hajime, for whom he appears to have a burning hatred.

Madoka Tsuburaya

Captain of squad three, the all-female sharpshooting specialist squad, Tsuburaya, is usually kind and gentle, but she can be scary when she gets angry. She's also Ito's girlfriend and former pin-up girl of the Samurai Force.

Iori Tanba

The communication specialist of squad one, Tanba always seems to know everyone's secrets. This is unfortunate for everyone else, because as the joker of the group, she loves to use the secrets she's learned for comedic effect.

Shahar

The pinnacle of evolution, the Shahar, were created in an experiment to find the gene for eternal life. They swiftly spread, and forced humanity to withdraw from the Americas, but thanks to special technology employed by the Japanese they haven't yet been able to cross the Pacific Ocean. They share a collective consciousness, directed by leaders called "cerebrates". They are capable of using the DNA of life forms they consume to adapt themselves, making them immune to most conventional weapons. Now the Samurai force seems to be humanity's last hope of stopping them...

Cool Mechs and Weapons

Eleven Soul is full of awesome weapons. Check out the mechs and the battleship in the pictures below.

Comedy

It's not all just action. There are plenty of light-hearted comedy moments. In the picture below everyone's having a taste of one of Hajime's infamous desserts...